It’s Great
to Be
YOU!
NOW, more than ever, you must
realize the power of YOU.
Raymond A. Saint
IT’S GREAT TO BE YOU!
NOW, MORE THAN EVER, YOU MUST REALIZE THE POWER OF YOU.
Available at www.raysaint.com
2009 by Raymond A. Saint
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Positive Focus Incorporated
P.O. Box 83
Boscobel, WI 53805
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
ISBN: 978-0-9823247-0-7 (Hardcover)
Illustrator: Dirk Boelman
www.dirkboelman.com
Printed in the United States of America
TOOLBOX
(TABLE OF CONTENTS)
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Authors message
THE BEGINNING
GET-IT TOGETHER
THE “I” IN TEAM
ATTITUDE
GOALS
COMMITMENT
STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
FOCUS & SELF-DISCIPLINE
SUCCESS
SUCCESS TRIANGLE
STRESS
PRODUCTIVITY
DECISION MAKING PROCESS
IT DOESN’T MATTER
PRIORITIES
FEAR OF FAILURE
LEADERSHIP
COMMUNICATION
INTENT
5 SYSTEMS OF THE BODY
INSPIRATION
WHAT’S RIGHT?
LIFESTYLE CHANGE
About the Author
Ray Saint has been building leaders and teaching others to be successful on purpose for most of his adult life. He has led by example and speaks from experience. As a Certified Protection Specialist and a graduate at the top of his class from ESI, Executive Security International, in 1989, Ray has first hand knowledge and hands on experience in areas including profiles of terrorism, observational psychology, combat and defensive shooting, executive protocol, personal protection, hand to hand combat, and escape and evasive driving tactics. He has provided personal protective services to World Leaders and corporate executives throughout North America. These experiences have given Ray a unique approach to personal growth, goal setting, and developing strategies for his own success. They have enabled him, through his own desires, motivation, and goal setting to better inspire others to reach and fulfill their dreams and goals. Ray is also a Master Instructor (5th degree black belt) and has twenty-six years experience in the martial arts disciplines of Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do. Over this period of time, he has taught over ten thousand individuals the positive leadership traits of self-maximization.
Ray, through his company, Positive Focus Inc., has been providing Personal Development and Leadership Training to organizations and individuals for the past fifteen years. He provides his clients with “real-time” solutions and practical applications that are guaranteed to affect the bottom line both personally and professionally. His unique ability to inspire individuals, from the front line to the boardroom, has made him a sought after inspirational leader. His keynotes, workshops, and seminars are built around the unique needs of his clients and are nationally recognized as being thought provoking, humorous, and educational.
As a Director of Safety and Employee Development in a corporate setting, Ray has developed and implemented unique training programs for maximizing potential in companies employing from five hundred to six thousand employees.
As a personal success and life balance coach, Ray has coached executive and management level individuals in getting re-focused and re-energized towards a balanced approach to success and happiness in their lives.
As a professional speaker and published author, Ray will re-energize you, your company, organization, or association. Through the use of the tools in this book, Ray will guide you to develop a greater understanding of your role as the “I” in team, to encourage and enable you to incorporate success in your life, at home, at work, or at play.
Acknowledgements:
There are far too many people to acknowledge and, to give credit to for this book becoming a reality. What gives me comfort is the fact that I know that you know who you are and what impact you have had on my life as a friend, peer, mentor, co-worker, acquaintance, stranger, or enemy; you have had an effect on this book’s content.
The people whom I need to acknowledge by name are those immediately responsible for the task of getting me to put it on the paper, which you are reading now. Dorothy Miller is a wonderful woman whom I had known, but never really met until I spoke to a cancer support group to which she and my mother, as cancer survivors, had belonged. During my presentation, I mentioned to the group that I was writing a book, although it was only in my head at the time. Dorothy, soon after, sent me a letter thanking me for the presentation and said, “You must get that book done, as soon as possible.” She wanted to have the first copy. Dorothy felt my material was inspiring to people and she felt that it could benefit people whether they were battling disease, life issues, or other struggles. For nine plus years, I have carried those kind words with me, and if not for Dorothy, this book would have stayed in my head. Dorothy, with great respect for your patience and perseverance, the first copy is yours.
Secondly, getting this book from my head to paper was not an easy task. I am a speaker, instructor, life coach, and trainer, not a writer. Enter Delores Faulkner, a true editorial blessing. I had seen a letter to the editor in our local newspaper that she had written, and I thought it was a beautifully crafted letter that pulled me along. Turns out, she was an accomplished writer. What are the odds of finding a published author in a small rural community who lives five blocks from me and who is willing to take on the daunting task of editing this project? Little did I know that Delores was to become the editor in chief (boss), junior editor, and any other editor necessary to bring this book to fruition. Her ability to take my “speaker’s talk” and wordsmith it into this readable piece of work truly amazed and inspired me chapter after chapter. Delores, your excitement and belief in this project kept it moving forward and, sometimes to your dismay, growing! Your wonderful talent of understanding the passion and intent of my thoughts, ideas, and words has been invaluable to this project. It would not have happened if not for you, boss! Thank you.
Lastly, I must thank Ms. Jean Salzgeber, proofreader extraordinaire. Your passion for and command of the English language is inspiring. The book will be an enjoyable and beneficial read for many people thanks to your diligence with grammar, punctuation, and structure. Your expertise has been invaluable, and I thank you for sharing it with this project.
Author’s Message:
The key to getting the most out of this book is knowing right up front that It’s Great to Be You. Fortunately, for you, I did not fill it with guaranteed formulas for success or give you ten key steps to lead you. It does not come with a secret potion or a bag of goods as others may try to sell you. The good news for you is that this book is your toolbox; it is as individual as you are, and it is filled with necessary tools, which have been around for thousands of years. These are the tools that you need to be successful on purpose. I know, I just told you that I was not going to “give you anything.”
Let me clarify the intent of this book. The sole intent is to share with you proven tools that leaders and successful people have been using for years. When I talk about leaders and successful people, I am talking about people just like you and me. We are all the same, each trying our best, day-by-day, to make it through this life. Not one of us is better than the next; we just have different roles. Some are living the life that they want, and others are not.
When I say leaders and successful people “just like you and me,” I am talking about the single mother who is raising a child or children because she wants to. She realizes that she needs to plan, schedule, and problem solve, using leadership skills daily. I am talking about the factory worker who is happy producing a product for others and giving his best to the company. His attitude is that he doesn’t “have” to go to work each day, he “gets” to go to work. I am talking about the owner of her small company who devotes fourteen hours each day to assure its success and loves it. Doing what you want to be doing is being successful.
I believe that the tools in this book are proven to be necessary if you want to be successful on purpose; however, you must find your own truths in these tools and how they apply to you in your life. No one, including me, can do that for you. The beauty of it, as you’ll soon discover, is that the tools will work for you individually. How and in what way will you apply these tools to assure success through your life journey?
Benjamin Franklin said, “Life is meant to be enjoyed, everything else is but a mockery.” I hope that you can apply the tools shown in this book to maximize your potential, but most of all, I hope that you enjoy the journey!
“We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents, the country of our birth or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live our lives.”
Joseph Epstein
This book is dedicated to
Mr. Larry Leitzinger and Dr. Brent Kooistra
who are two of the truest leaders on this planet.
THE BEGINNING…
THE BEGINNING…
The content of this book might ruffle some feathers and go against many ideas that you may have been taught. Your parents, teachers, or even your high school coaches may have told you, “There is no “I” in team!” I am telling you there is an “I” in team, and the “I” is YOU. It’s Great to Be You.
This book began as a dream; however, with the use of several tools, which you will learn about within its chapters, I have made it a reality. It’s Great to Be You is already a resounding success! I know this because I have been living the simple concepts and using the tools in this book for the last five years, and my quality of life has improved personally as well as professionally. I now control my life. Have you ever found yourself asking the following questions? “How can I get more control of my life?” “Why do these things happen to me?” “Why can’t I be as lucky as she is?” If you have, then I believe this book is for you.
I have purposely kept this book in the form of a practical guide because I believe that life itself is simple; it is just not easy. “We” complicate our life through many of our own actions. In order to receive the benefits from the simple truths contained in this book, you must first grasp and embrace this concept: “Your life WILL become easier once you have an understanding of just how much of it YOU actually control.”
You already know your life is very busy, so busy, in fact, that you do not have the time to learn a whole new vocabulary or complex formulas that self-proclaimed “happiness gurus” say you need in order to be successful. Not only do you not have time for it, but also you do not need it. I believe that we can all be successful no matter what our lot in life as long as we view the world from the inside out and GET-IT Together in our individual lives.
You will find the GET-IT Together philosophy in this book is opposite from others that you may have read; in that, we must simplify and not complicate the process. The GET-IT Together philosophy applies practical concepts or tools of which you are probably already aware. The goal is to use the right tool at the right time to get the desired result. For example, I could have the very best ¾ inch wrench ever made, but if I am trying to loosen a ½ inch nut, it is a useless tool for the job.
In this book, we will discuss the practical tools and their benefit to you, as you work towards reaching your goals.
Look around you in your everyday life, and you’ll see people just wandering through life with no direction as if they are a pinball being hit around at random or a beach ball in the water on a windy day. I have often wondered why people function in this manner as if they had no real desire to excel or create a good life for themselves. They allow themselves to be pushed about or blown around without ever trying to set their own course and implement the tools necessary to navigate through their desired destination.
We are all familiar with the negative person that tears everyone down or feels the world has a vendetta against him/her, always finding and pointing out the bad in everyone and everything. I find it interesting to watch and listen to those who believe that, no matter what they do, the world will make it go wrong, and it won’t be through any fault of their own. The reality is that they may not want to be this way and that they just don’t know how to change it. Perhaps from the time they were old enough to comprehend, they were told “no” and “don’t” so many times that they just gave up and stopped trying to express themselves. Feeling good about our life and ourselves is something we all desire, yet few of us ever attain. If you are one of these people, if it is something you really want, you can change and be whomever you choose to be, and that, my friend, is the not so “secret” secret.
It is my hope that by the time you finish reading this book, you will have a much keener understanding of how you truly do control many of the events that happen in life, to you, for you, and because of you. There are those who want things to happen, those who let things happen, and those who make things happen. Which will you be? The choice is up to you!
Instead of asking “Why does everyone else have all the luck?” or “Why is he/she the one instead of me?” you should be asking, “Who am I, Where am I going, What do I want?” “If I don’t have it, how do I plan to get it?” These are the questions you must first ask and answer for yourself. Once you have honestly asked and answered these four “simple” questions, your life will change forever, and you will be on the road towards personal and professional success and truly GET-IT Together.
This book is meant to be a practical guide and everything in it will not pertain to everyone all of the time. If, at times, it appears as though I am talking directly to you, and you sense that what I’m saying is just for you, it is possible that it is relevant to you at this point and time in your life, and you should pay particular attention.
The sad news is that only about five percent of the people reading this book now will take the necessary steps towards implementing the personal goals and strategies into their lives to make a real difference.
The good news is that if you are part of that five percent, you will understand the opportunities available to you are in direct relation to your commitment to YOU, and once you grasp that, it should excite and energize YOU beyond imagination.
Please note that the chapters in this book are not in any particular order of importance because that may be determined by what your goals are for your life and where you currently are towards reaching those goals. The chapters in this book are what I call tools, or building blocks, that are necessary for being successful “on purpose.”
As a practical guide, you should refer to this book when your life is going well, when it is not going well, and when you want to purposely make a change in your life. This book is now yours. Highlight areas, make notes, and add your thoughts, contemplations, and successes to these pages. My hope is that you refer to them often as you reach your goals and plan new ones.
My reason for bringing this practical tool to you is that you will realize that “it’s great to be you” and the “I” in team is YOU. You will use this as a guide towards meeting and exceeding the personal and professional expectations that YOU set for yourself throughout your life.
Toolbox Takeaway:
You should refer to this book when your life is going well, when it is not going well, and when you purposely want to make a change in your life.
Below, write your answers to the questions; Who am I, Where am I going, What do I want, How do I plan to get it?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________